Seat.



No. 897,282. PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1908. A. PRESOHL.

SEAT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1907.

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' i7 XM- I ALFRED FRESCHL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1908.

Application filed August 1, ism. mm No. 330,520.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFREnFREsoHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seats, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to seats, and more particularly to automobile seats, and the mvention consists in the arrangements and no way by which the back may be tilted to change the position of a persons body. To relieve the fatigue due to maintaining a more or less uprl ht position it is often customary to sit well forward on the seat and rest the head and shoulders against the back, a position in itself unnatural and fatiguing as well.

The object of my invention is to provide a seat and back for automobiles adapted to be tilted or inclined, though it is of course to be understood that I do not mean to limit my invention to automobiles as it is obvious that it may be employed in connection with chairs, car-seats etc. without departing from the spirit thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference numerals indicate like parts shown in the several figures; Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of the rear portion of the body of an automobile provided with my invention; and Fig. 2. is a diagrammatic front view showing the seat and back divided into three tilting sections.

In the present embodiment of my invention I have shown it in connection with the rear portion of the body of an automobile of the ordinary type, and in the drawing the reference numeral 3 indicates the floor of the body, 4 one side thereof, and 5 the back. I The seat-frame may be of any suitable construction and material but in the form shown consists of a horizontal seat portion 6 and an integral vertical back ortion 7. The lower art of the automobile ack 5 provides a shou der 8, u on which the rear of the seat portion 6 of t'e seat-frame rests, and the ack-portion 7 of the seat normall rests against the automobile back 5, w ich is usually curved rearwardly near its top. The cushion or u holstered portions 9 and 10 of seat and bac are integral, though itis obvious that they ma be made separate. A dependingrest 11 1s pivotally connected to the front of the seat frame as at 12; it is of course to be understood that the parts are suitably upholstered.

The normal position of the seat is shown in full lines in the drawings, and it may be tilted to allow the user to take a more or less reclining position, such as that shown in dotted lines. For this purpose I ma employ any suitablemeans, and as an e fective device I pivot .an eccentric or cam upon the supporting frame or automobile body under the seat at its front, which ma be turned upon its pivot to shift the seat to reclining position; the extent of the inclination depending of course upon the pitch of the eccentric or cam. As shown the tilting device 13 bears against the under side of the seat-portion 6 of the frame, and is arranged in any suitable manner; in long seats it will be preferable to provide a camunder each end in which case they will be connected to move in unison as by rigidly mounting them upon a rod 14 suitably journaled in the frame, and in short seats a single cam centrally ;arran ed will suffice, being either loosely or rigid ly connected to the rod. The tilting device may merely bear against the under side of the seat-portion 6, but preferably it is in the form of a rack segment whose teeth mesh with a corresponding rack 15 secured to the under side of the seat-portion 6, as this secures more positive action and prevents accidental displacement of the seat. T o tilt the seat to inclined position a link 16 is pivoted at one end to the tilting eccentric or cam at one side of its pivot, and at its other end to a lever 17 pivoted on the su porting frame as at 18, the free end of the ever extending forward into position to be operated by the foot or hand of the operator. To hold the seat in its tilted positlon a serrated plate 19 is' secured in vertical position on the supporting frame adjacent the free end of the on its pivot it raises the rest 'to position in extension of the seat as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1., withdrawing the rest to folded position when the seat is returned to normal position.

When it is desired to incline the seat the lever 17 is depressed and the cam is rocked u wardly, the seat frame being thereby ti ted and at the same time drawn forward as it turns upon the automobile back as a fulcrum, the latter being curved for this purpose when it extends to the height of the seat-back. At the same time that the cam is thus rocked the link 20 raises the rest 11, and when the cam has completed its movement all the parts occupy the positions shown in the dotted 1111685; The space between the to of thebackortion 7 and the back 5 of t e automobile body is closed by the covering 21 of the seat which may be of leather or other suitable material and is adapted to fold as the seat is inclined.

I am thus able b my invention to tilt the seat so that the ack is shifted from its practically upright position to an inclined position, such as shown in the dotted lines of Fi 1, and as the seat is accordingly .move the position of the user may be changed from u right to inclined, the rest 11 being exten ed to form a support for the lower arts of the legs.

While t e entire seat may be tilted, it is obvious 'that my invention contemplates that different portions of the seat may be separately tilted as b dividing it into sections each provided wit its associated tilting devices, such as above described. In Fig. 2 I show a seat divided into three sections each comprising asuitable integral back and seat semen portion 10 and 9 respectivel and each section being independently ti ted by its associated mechanism, such as that described and shown, and operated byits lever 17 in the manner disclosed. In such case a single cam may be employed for each section, arranged centrally thereof as indicated by the reference numeral 17 and carried loosely upon the common rod 14. Each section may a so have an associated rest 11, operated as above described.

What I claim is 1. A supporting frame having asubstantially vertical back, a seat-frame consistin of a horizontal seat-portion and a vertica back-portion in fixed relation to each other in all positions, a shifting support at or near the front of the seat-portion, a seat and back carried by the seat-frame, the seatframe bein supported by the su porting frame and s 'fting supportin norma and inclined positions.

2. A su porting frame having a substan tially vertical back, a seat-frame consistin of a horizontal seat-portion and a vertica back-portion in fixed relation to each other in all positions, a cam support at or near the front of the seat-portion, the seat-frame resting on the supporting frame and cam support in all positions.

3. In combination with a supporting frame, a seat-frame, a seat and back carried by the frame, a rack on the seat-frame, a pinion mounted on the body and meshing with the rack to tilt the seat, a lever to move the pinion, .and means to hold the rack and pinion against accidental movement.

4. A supporting frame, a seat-frame having a seat and back, a rest pivoted to the front of the frame, a cam to tilt the frame, a lever connecting the cam and rest, and a lever for moving the cam.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ALFRED FRESCHL. 

